MILLIE: Some of the best meals are served at a chef’s table. Normally, when chefs gather around for a regular meal, it turns out to be a meal so simple yet out of this world.
Chefs sometimes create a dish in their minds, without a recipe, like real artists.
It could be composed of something seasonal like white asparagus, the freshest seafood catch for the day or wild mushrooms picked from the woods, to delight one’s palate. It could also be yesterday’s leftovers recreated into a new dish or some scrap material or trimmings good enough to eat instead of throwing away. Chefs like to pair their food with a good wine to brighten up their day.
My best friend Verne Reyes who lives in a condo at The Fort in Taguig chanced upon a resto called Chef’s Table at The Infinity Tower on 26th Street and raved about it, so we went for dinner. The resto is casual but has a funky feel, says Karla. The food: Filipino fusion. Verne ordered an appetizer simply called fried pusit which is tender baby squid lightly coated and fried on a bed of butterhead lettuce, served with finely chopped green mango salad with onions and tomatoes. We shared a bowlful of calamansi tuyo spaghetti, the tuyo flakes sautéed in tuyo oil, enhanced with calamansi juice and sprinkled with grated queso de bola. It reminded me of my sister Dorcie’s specialty which has become a family favorite and which she calls tuyo pasta. We also ordered Prawn Aligue My Way which consists of baby prawns on a bed of sotanghon flavored with aligue sauce, pouched in banana leaves and baked to perfection. Verne and I both agreed that the aligue sauce deliciously seeped through the light sotanghon and I actually had to go back a few nights later with Karla to have my fill of the dish.
Verne’s better half, Hector, had a real treat — binagoonang baboy!
KARLA: When I was a kid, as soon as I entered a restaurant, the first thing I’d notice would be either the aquariums in Chinese restaurants or the glass window showcasing the kitchen. Yes, I was one of those kids who found joy in observing the fish in the aquariums after dinner. In this case, as soon as I entered Chef’s Table, I was deeply amused to see that the kitchen area was not even covered by a glass window. In fact, it wasn’t covered at all. Usually, when you enter a kitchen there’s a food smell that sticks to you. But Chef’s Table has a very high-powered exhaust system, so somehow, we didn’t smell a single thing at all; we didn’t come out smelling like food.
As we settled into our seats (facing the kitchen, of course), we were greeted and attended to by a very accommodating semi-kalbo waiter throughout our Chef’s Table experience. But then again, all the waiters seem to be semi-kalbo (ha, ha!) He mentioned that the best-sellers are Chill-a-Fino, which is Chinese-style steamed lapu-lapu with mashed ube and kalderetang itik, but we ended up ordering Cebuana chili chicken wings served with cucumber sticks, braised liempo and the mango cheesecake. We actually weren’t even supposed to order it with chicken wings, but the waiters were excellent at suggestive selling — plus Mom and I really have this thing for chicken wings. And we absolutely loved the wings at Chef’s Table. We wanted to order another round but decided to save some room for dessert instead.
As our food came, Mom and I began eating and talking about the food. And every time I would glance up, I would see some of the chefs watching me eat, probably curious to check out our reactions. This actually didn’t bother me at all and even made me feel like I was a Top Chef guest judge. So I’d just smile and give a thumbs up, then they would go back to work. There’s really something about this open-kitchen environment that allows you to really appreciate the process of preparation and experience the food in a way that creates a relationship of sorts with the chefs. You are able to see them at their best, doing what they love, plus crazy stuff you don’t see every day, like a chef dancing to the restaurant music while cooking.
Although Mom has been back a number of times, she still hasn’t chanced to meet chef Bruce or his wife Michelle. So we weren’t able to get a one-on-one interview. But you might want to give it a try yourself. Visit chef Bruce Lim’s Chef’s Table Restaurant at Unit 106, Infinity Tower, 26th Street, The Fort, Global City, Taguig (beside South of Market, at the back of Infinity Tower). For reservations and inquiries, call 399-1888, 0918-8871277 or 0922-8712777, e-mail michelle@chefstablemanila.com or check out www.chefstablemanila.com.
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